The process of choosing paint for a car is very important for every car owner. It often happens that the paintworkers choose the paint incorrectly because of their carelessness, after which some parts of the body (which have been repaired) are different from other parts. And all because of the fact that the paint was incorrectly chosen, so that such incidents did not arise, it is necessary to understand the process of painting and car paint selection in more detail.

Automotive paint is a multicomponent blend.

Automotive paints are different, and the production of these paints may change due to the introduction of new technologies. But despite this, the main parameters of automotive paint are the density, elasticity and hardness. The quality of the paintwork and its protective properties depend on these parameters.

Automotive paint is necessary not only to provide an aesthetic effect, but also to create a reliable coating that protects the body from rust and is resistant to scratches and other damage.

Paint for cars consists of several components:

• pigment, which depends on the shade and color of the paint;
• solvent to obtain the desired viscosity and consistency;
• binder so that the paint is evenly applied and has a glossy coating with a high rate of resistance.

To make your car look perfect, we’ll now take a closer look at how to choose paint colors for a car.

Choose a specific type of paint for the car

During selection of automotive paint, you will encounter a fairly large selection of different types of paint. To date, on sale there are such types of paint, which are inherent in their pros and cons.

Acrylic paint

Acrylic paint – 2-х компонентная car paint, ее очень часто используют для покраски автомобилей, сделана на основе синтетических смол, выделяемых из нефтепродуктов. Бывает 2 типа прочности: НМ (мягкое покрытие) и HS (твердое покрытие). Эта краска отличается высоким качеством и однородностью покрытия, а также она устойчива к агрессивным воздействиям окружающей среды, отлично блестит, быстро высыхает, не требует нанесения лака. Но при этих всех достоинствах эта краска достаточно дорогая, и во время покраски необходимо красить автомобиль несколькими слоями.

Synthetic paint

Синтетическая (меламиноалкидная, алкидная) автомобильная эмаль – достаточно известная однокомпонентная car paint, высыхает в естественной среде, во время покраски необходимо добавлять отвердитель. Преимуществами этой краски считаются достаточно низкая цена, простота в нанесении, краска отлично блестит и получается очень качественное покрытие. Недостатки тоже есть: необходимо достаточно долгое время для высыхания краски, полировать автомобиль можно только после того, как машина полностью высохнет.

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Nitrocrack

Nitro-paint - designed for painting parts of the body during repair, the paint dries quickly in its natural environment. But requires the mandatory application of protective varnish, not sufficiently resistant to environmental influences.

Metallic paint

Paints "metallic" - are considered quite popular way of painting the car, if you want to paint the car in the color "metallic". This painting method has several different options:

• A single-layer metallic, when painting, the appearance of bubbles or drips is possible, and also varnish is part of this paint.
• 2-ply metallic is a more popular method of painting a car. It is necessary to apply the 1st layer of paint, then wait until it dries, and apply a layer of protective varnish. The result will be a coating that is resistant to the environment and other damages and has a brilliant luster.
• 3-ply metallic - is considered a more complex coating, but in the end you will get pearlescent reflux (Chameleon effect).

Powder paint

Powder paints - differ in that they are applied using a special professional technique, and before that the paint must also be prepared, because initially it is sold in the form of powder.

This paint has a lot of different colors and shades to choose from, as well as the ability to mix colors and get the necessary shades. Powder paint dries quickly, suitable for painting and body, and interior, and individual parts. Of the shortcomings, only that it can be used only by professionals in paint shops, and their services cost a lot of money.

There is still a special paint that is applied immediately to rust, as well as water-based paint, but it is not very popular yet. In addition, there is also cellulose paint, which dries quickly, but does not provide a stable coating and gloss. And of course, glyphthalic paints, which are cheap, create a durable film, but dry for a very long time, the advantages of these paints are less than the disadvantages.

How to surely choose the color of auto-paint

When we have decided on the type of paint, we have to choose the right color, because the quality of work and the time spent on painting depend on it.

But there is nothing difficult in choosing a paint; in practice everything happens in several ways.

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It is possible to determine the paint color by its catalog number and wine code.

Manufacturers of auto-paints have long invented a system for accounting for standard colors that are used in automotive plants. A great helper in determining the color needed for a car are the color palettes, which indicate the number of colors for different models, brands and release years.

In most cases, in the car, on the inside of the trunk, door or bonnet there is a sticker with a wine-code and other technical data. On this sticker, the car paint code is indicated in Latin letters. Also, the exact color can be found in the service station, which is engaged in painting, for this it is required to say only the model, brand and year of the car, or on the manufacturer's website, you can also find out the color marking.

You can determine the color and "by eye"

The owner of the car can determine the color by removing any part on which the paint is applied and compare it with the color on the paint manufacturer's palette.

There are cases when some places of the car differ in color from the general body color due to fading or other factors caused by the surrounding effect. Therefore, it is very important to compare colors in very bright light, preferably using a lamp.

Selection of automotive paint using a computer

In auto repair shops, special computer programs are usually used that help in drawing up the consistency of paint by comparing the paint code with the paint applied to the sample parts.

Such a program will easily select the saturation, color depth, contrast, compare it with the color of the proposed part, and then offer an accurate paint recipe.

Of course, the method of using a computer program is considered the most expensive, but it is the most accurate when choosing a color.

Subtleties when choosing paint for the car

For example, if you decide to completely repaint the car body, then if the color doesn’t slightly match the original body color, it doesn’t matter, it’s important for you to simply recognize the paint by the wine code. Then you can safely paint the car in the color found.

But if you need to paint over a certain part of the body or scratches, then the color selected by the wine code is only a guideline.

It is also necessary to take into account the fact that for a car of a certain brand, the base color, which is specified by the manufacturer on the wine-code, may differ slightly due to possible error.

Today, colors like nacre or metallic are considered popular. So for these colors to use the method "by eye" is unacceptable, since it is very difficult to distinguish shades by this method, it is recommended to use color matching for these colors using a computer program.

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There are cases when even the color and shade were perfectly matched, but when painting a certain part of the body, this part is visually different in color from the other, adjacent parts of the body that were not painted. For metallic colors, this case is very characteristic. To get rid of this problem, you should make a smooth transition, that is, paint a little of the neighboring parts with fresh paint. This method will smooth out the differences in shades in the places-joints.

In a word, in order to choose the type of paint and precisely choose the color and shade for painting a car, it is necessary:

1. The type of paint is selected based on the number of parts requiring painting; conditions in which will occur car painting and from the amount of money allocated for painting. Of course, the easiest and preferable way to give the car for painting to professionals in a specialized workshop, but it will cost a lot of money.
2. The paint code is determined by a win code and a comparison is made, either visual or computer, with the actual color of the part being painted. To heighten the effect, use a powerful lamp to better determine the shades.
3. With the help of a computer program, a recipe of the required hue is prepared, then the necessary components are poured with high precision, which are then thoroughly mixed.
4. The resulting color is painted test plate, which is then applied to the car and compared in very good light. If the color does not match, then components that are missing are added. Then a comparison is made again, and so on until the colors completely match.
5. The surface of the car prepared for painting is painted with the color obtained by the previously chosen painting method. After the paint has dried, you need to check the color again, if the result came up, then everything is fine, you need to save this recipe for possible subsequent painting.

And then a video about how to paint a car right in the garage: